


A Trip to the Theater

by The_Little_Momaid



Category: New Girl
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13099542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Little_Momaid/pseuds/The_Little_Momaid
Summary: My Secret Santa gift! Nick has to help Jess chaperone a surprise field trip- but in the end, it's Jess that's surprised.





	A Trip to the Theater

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, roomfriends! This is my secret santa gift to the fabulous faeriejehan on tumblr, enjoy!
> 
> Set right around the "Nerd" / "The Captain" time frame.

“If you come I’ll give you a treat”

 

Jess’ bright blue eyes looked up at Nick, a hand resting on his upper thigh and it took every ounce of his willpower to not give in.

 

“Jess I don’t see why an actual parent can’t go on this field trip with you!”

 

“Because they all said no! Please Nick, I really need this field trip to be a success. It’s my first chance to really show Foster what I can do. And then, if it goes well, I can convince him to use the extra budget money for the arts program!”

 

“Wait- arts program? Jess, what exactly is this field trip? You are NOT dragging me to an art museum, Jessica.”

 

“It’s not a museum trip, Nick!” Jess replied almost defensively. “I can’t actually tell you.”

 

Nick looked back. Now his interest was piqued. 

 

“What do you mean you can’t tell me?”

 

“I mean, it’s a surprise program for the kids and you can’t keep a secret to save your life.”

 

She had a point. She also still had her hand on his thigh. It had been almost a month since they returned from Mexico, and Nick still couldn’t believe Jess was his. That she was allowed to touch him, hold him, kiss him. That she actually  _ wanted _ to. Which was exactly why he said the following:

 

“Alright, Jess I’ll do it. I’ll go on field trip with you.”

 

Jess gave out a little help of excitement and launched herself into Nick, wrapping her arms around him and whispering little thank yous in between the kisses that were being rained upon Nick’s face and neck. Correction,  _ this _ is why he said yes. 

 

————

 

Two days later, Nick seriously considered if those kisses were enough to get him up this early. But Jessica Day was a determined alarm clock, and 3 cups of coffee and a Monster Energy drink later, Nick found himself at Coolidge Middle School, sitting on a stool next to Jess’s desk as the first bell went off. 

 

They didn’t have to leave for the field trip until halfway through first period, so Nick got to watch Jess teach for a little bit. He knew Jess’s preferred subject was English but that due to budget cuts she was being asked to also teach two sections of American History. Which apparently was her first class of the day. It also happened to be Nick’s favorite subject. 

 

“Good morning, Patriots! Today is field trip day, and while I too, am very excited, we do have a full half of a period to use to continue our discussion on the American Revolution.” Jess walked out from behind her desk and towards Nick. “I also want to introduce you to Mr. Miller. He’ll be one of our chaperones on today’s field trip. Does anyone have any questions before we review last night’s homework?”

 

A blonde girl with long pigtails raised her hand. 

 

“Yes, Megan, do you have a question?”

 

“Can you please tell us where we’re going today Miss Day?!” Megan pleaded. The rest of the class nodded and audibly supported Megan’s inquiry into their destination. 

 

“I’m afraid not, Megan. That would ruin the surprise!”

 

“Well do you know, Mr. Miller?”

 

Nick’s eyes widened. “Me? Nope, no clue. She wouldn’t tell me either.”

 

“I don’t believe you. I think you know exactly where we’re going.” Megan squinted at Nick. 

 

“Okay, that’s enough. Please get out your homework, everyone!”

 

Jess was right. No way would Nick have been able to keep their destination a secret. Not when Jess had mini FBI interrogators for students. 

 

The rest of the morning went smoothly, and Nick found himself almost entranced with Jess as she taught. She really was an amazing teacher- equal parts excited about the subject matter and serious about making the kids learn it. Nick found himself falling in love with history all over again. 

 

“You guys did an amazing job on the assignment so I will give you one hint about today’s field trip. The topic of the trip has to do with our current discussion on the revolution and our future lessons about the early years of our nation. You will be asked to do a follow up project on what you experience today, so be sure to take notes and ask me questions after.”

 

As the students buzzed with excitement about their small hint, an alarm rang off on Jess’s phone.

 

“Alright, time to go! Nick is going to escort you guys to the buses while I grab the other two classes.”

 

Jess walked out the door, looking quickly back at Nick and giving a small wink. As she turned to start down the hallway, Nick looked back to the students, expecting them to be up and putting on their jackets.

 

They were not. 

 

Every single student was still sitting in their seats, staring directly into Nick’s soul. Megan rose again. Clearly she would be the leader if this turned in a  _ Lord of the Flies _ situation. 

 

“Mr. Miller? Are you Jess’s boyfriend?”

 

“You know, I think we should probably go to the buses.” Stammered back. They hadn’t actually had the labels conversation yet. _ Why hadn’t we talked about this?!  _

 

“Well if you’re not her boyfriend, what are you?”

 

“Well, we’re roommates who like each other. And go on dates. And kiss.”

 

“That sounds an awful lot like being a boyfriend to me, Mr. Miller.” Another girl stood up, hands crossed with a look similar to the one Jess sports when she’s disappointed in him. 

 

“Well, I mean we could be, we haven’t really talked about it yet.”

 

“I think we should probably talk about your intentions with our teacher, Mr. Miller.” Megan began to stalk towards Nick. “Do you like her?”

 

“Of course!” Nick was starting to get a little sweaty.  _ What is with these children?! _

 

“Well if you like her, ask her to be your girlfriend. And don’t hurt her.” Megan was directly in front of Nick, and Nick looked around to see other students rising in agreement with her. “I won’t.” Nick replied quickly.

 

“Good. Off to the buses, yes?” Megan began to stride out of the room, the class following her. 

 

Nick shook his head and followed sheepishly behind the class.  _ That went well. Good start, Miller. _

 

As the class approached the front door of the school where the buses were parked, Nick saw Jess struggling to hold open two doors and also try to stay out of the way of the stampede of students running to get a good seat on the buses. Nick made it over to Jess and grabbed a door from her. 

 

“Thanks!” She was a little breathy and flushed, and suddenly Nick was reminded of the other times she got breathy and flushed and -  _ No, nope shut that down Miller, you’re in a school. _

 

As they boarded the buses and checked in the students, the excitement on board was palpable. The kids were clearly enthusiastic about their mystery field trip, and Nick was beginning to feel the effects of their heightened chatter and buzz. 

 

Jess plopped down next to him as the bus pulled away from the school, organizing the clipboard on her lap. Nick glanced down to see a list of names, a spreadsheet on food allergies, a packet of information title  _ EDUHAM- The Hamilton Education Program _ , some printed out emails, a map to a theater, another spreadsheet on -

 

Wait. 

 

The  _ Hamilton Education Program _ ?

 

“Jess?!” Nick whisper-yelled.

 

Jess looked up, clearly startled by Nick’s tone. “What?” She whispered.

 

Nick reached for the clipboard and flipped back to the packet. “Are we going to see  _ Hamilton _ ?!”

 

Jess’s eyes widened, and she quickly snatched the clipboard away from Nick. “Shhh! They’ll hear you! They have eyes and ears everywhere.”

 

Nick got even lower and closer to Jess, still fighting over the clipboard. “I can’t believe we’re going to  _ Hamilton _ ! How did you get tickets, the LA run is almost sold out and-” Nick stopped himself and grimaced.

 

_ I’ve said too much.  _

 

One of Jess’s eyebrows raised up and she had a small smirk spreading across her face. “Nicholas Miller, how do you know what  _ Hamilton _ is?”

 

Nick ducked his head and stammered, “I uh, I don’t know- what is  _ Hamilton _ , is it a person, a Broadway show, who knows?”

 

Nick glanced back up at Jess, a look of triumph on her face. She knew she was getting this out of him-  it was only a matter of how long he would try to keep up this charade. 

 

Nick sighed. “Alright. Remember when Winston and I went to New York with my dad? Well, while we were there we saw  _ Annie _ . My dad hated it, so I pretended to hate it too. But I loved it!” Nick laughed a little, thinking back to that first time. Jess was watching him carefully, her eyes shining over the fact that Nick was opening up to her. 

“When I got back to Chicago, I started going to see shows. First it was  _ Cabaret _ , and then  _ Catch Me If You Can _ and then I was just hooked. I didn’t realize there was such a big theater scene there. I’ve never, you know, been in a show but I love going to see them. Especially when we were in college. Schmidt minored in theater so I got to see a lot of shows. It was a good excuse, just going to support my buddy ya know? So yes, I do know what  _ Hamilton _ is. I have the soundtrack on Winston’s iPhone.”

 

Jess smiled. “Thank you for sharing that with me.” Her hand slipped into Nick’s, and she squeezed it. 

  
They sat like that the whole ride to the theater, and during the show, and on the ride home. They even sat together, hand in hand, the week after when they went to see  _ Legally Blonde _ \- another one of Nick’s favorite shows. 


End file.
